Preview: RCB v KTK

Chris Gayle. That is the name on everyone's lips at the moment in the city of Bangalore. But however hard it is to believe, there is more to the Kochi - Bangalore clash than just Chris Gayle. With the race for the final four getting hotter by the day, every single match is crucial, more so for Kochi as they have already played 10 games.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala: With 5 wins from 10 matches, Kochi find themselves in a tricky spot at the middle of the table. Given the fierce scramble for points at the top of the table, no team is guaranteed of a final four berth and every team will want to get to at least 8 wins and 16 points to breathe a little easier. Kochi need to win 3 of their last 4 games to confirm their spot. While a loss is not the end of the road, it would make things exceedingly difficult for them. Kochi's form and giant killing record should give them a big boost as they take on yet another strong team in their own den. The main strength of the Kochi team is their bowling. Sreesanth, who was dropped for a few games has returned and made sure that he doesn't give the team any reason to drop him again. Parameshwaran, the young left arm pacer has just played 2 games but has already caught everyone's attention and Gomez turned in a match winning performance against Kolkata. But the match against Bangalore will be a tough test for these talented Malayalis as they are up against a solid batting line up.

Kochi's batsmen would have to do much more if they are to make it far in the tournament. They struggled against Kolkata and if not for the last over assault from Hodge, they would have ended up with a paltry total. Most of their batsmen have shown potential in various points of the tournament but Kochi would expect them to convert promise into performance as the tournament enters the fag end.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: They looked like a team searching for inspiration in the initial stages of the tournament and the inspiration came in the form a West Indies batsman called Chris Gayle. In just 4 matches, he has scored 2 centuries - both of which left the opposition stunned and the crowd entertained. If his batting wasn't enough to dent the opposition, Gayle has been useful with the ball too, picking up 3 crucial wickets against Kings XI. It is hard to think beyond this burly left hander but Bangalore boast of a classy line up in the form of Dilshan, AB de Villers and Virat Kohli. While Kohli and de Villiers have been in prime form, Dilshan is yet to live up to his billing as a specialist opener in Twenty20 cricket.

The bowlers have been doing their job too. Zaheer Khan has looked better after a woeful start to the tournament and the othe pacers have chipped in too. S Aravind returned fabulous figures of 4-0-14-4 in the previous game and is likely to partner Zaheer with the new ball. Vettori has been economical as always but Bangalore would expect more wickets from its skipper.

The battles:

Gayle v McCullum: They were teammates in the previous seasons and would be playing against each other on Sunday. McCullum has not been in the greatest of forms but he would have great memories of the Chinnaswamy stadium. Not many can forget the start he gave to the Indian Premier League in it's inaugural season - he blasted a sensational century to kick start the IPL in 2008. The result of the game could very well be decided by the battle between these 2 marauding batsmen.

Vinay Kumar v RCB batsmen: Vinay Kumar plays for Karnataka and was a member of the RCB team for the last 3 editions but finds himself as their opponent now. He knows the conditions better than most RCB players and would be keen to prove a point to his former team.

Final Word: It is hard to look beyond Royal Challengers Bangalore at the moment. With 4 wins in a row, they are the in form team and look a complete side since the arrival of Gayle. But Kochi Tuskers have a little bit of momentum going their way too, after back to back wins over Delhi and Kolkata. Kochi would be vary of Gayle, while Bangalore would be hoping that the law of averages doesn't catch up with them.